We enjoy a water based tour and circumnavigate Manhattan, heading up the East River, uptown, and back down the Hudson River, downtown. It’s great to get out on the water and enjoy the coolness for a couple of hours. Our captain talks about a range of things along the tour, history of the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, the lookalike Sydney Harbour Bridge, places where in summer children leap from sheer walls into the river to stay cool. As we come back down town we learn about the New York Schist and why patches of New York are home to so many sky scrapers, while other areas don’t have tall buildings at all.
We learn about the race to build sky scrapers during the depression and the forward thinking city planners and the city’s elite who supported these efforts. Frankyl this building during the depression kick started the economy and trade and established New York at the centre of the world’s economy.
After the cruise, we take a different look at the city and venture up the Empire State Building.
During our trip I’ve been experimenting with some tilt shift photography. I’ve been enjoying making miniature scenes, although haven’t quite got the hang of it yet, it is an area I’d like to explore a little more. Up here it is a great opportunity to work on my skills and take some cool looking photos. Check them out.
The view from the Empire State Building is fantastic.  It’s different to what we saw last year from the Rockefeller Centre: firstly we cant see ourselves!  Secondly Central Park is obscured, but we do get a great view of the Flatiron District and lower Manhattan. The air is cool and as the sun sets the city comes to life as twinkling lights take over. The crowd also way up high thickens as more and more people join the observation deck. We wander around, taking our time as we take in all four points of the compass, enjoy the gift shop and head down for some Shake Shack for dinner and a quiet and pleasant walk home.
